What you get in Marrakech part ii
1 Poor people trying to make a living for themselves and for whom a 10 dirham tip, about 60p, is like winning the lottery.
2 Friendly people. Try stall 117 in the food market for the finest examples!!
3 Extremely helpful people.
4 Brilliant food (not a chippy in sight) from traders who guarantee "no diarrhoea for three years" - and it works!
5 Magnificent scenery in the Atlas mountains about an hour out of town.
6 Crystal clear rivers.
7 Rainbow trout in the mountains. Think the season opens in May from memory. Before that the fish are "too small" according to the guide. Try Taxi amarrakech for a 4x4 day trip into the mountains. Rachid in particular is a real mine of information about all things Marrakshi !
8 Traders in the souks who take a polite "Merci" (taken to mean No thanks) for an answer and won't hassle you. A trader who will go out of his way - literally - on his moped to find you exactly what you want.
9 A waiter in the Cafe des Epices who will chat about football as you sip your mint tea and can tell you about the Moroccan player who had a spell with Hibernian in Edinburgh.
10 The owner of the Restaurant Foucauld who insists that you visit the buffet as many times as your stomach can comfortably allow.
11 Reasonable taxi fares. In spite of horror stories about Marrakech taxi drivers and rip offs, our driver on dropping us off at the airport and being asked how much it was, replied, "Comme vous voulez" - "Just what you want". Now that's not something you don't hear every day here!
12 KFC and McDonalds but that would be an insult to the local cuisine - and anyway what's the point of going all that way to eat rubbish you could get at home?
As far as "scary people" are concerned. I'd rather walk through the crowds in Jemaa El Fna after dark than walk through parts of some UK cities! Smells? Ever been downwind of a landfill site here?
That's a standard line from every rickshaw/taxi driver in the 3rd world, offered daily to unsuspecting tourists. Try giving him 10p and see what transpires! 